One Booth To Rule Them All!

Before we dig into this, I would like to make something clear from the beginning. This is not to raise funds for something I need. This is for something I would like to have. Something which will make my work process easier and more consistent.

If you want to provide funds for someone in need, this is not that campaign. Thank you for your understanding and consideration.

Now, let’s begin.

For those of you who have known me for more than 5 to 10 minutes, you are already aware of what I do. For those of you who do not know me, I’m Tren Sparks, a professional voice actor living in the Bay Area in Northern California. While I occasionally voice characters for games or animations, the vast majority of my work is narrating audiobooks. I have never had a job that I love like this one. Even at its most grueling and stressful, there is still nothing I would rather do.

My biggest problem, as is the case for many audio performers, is unwanted sound. I have acoustic tiles on the walls and a large rug on the hardwood floor to eliminate the vast majority of the reflections inside the room. But my real problem comes from outside. My room shares a wall with my housemate’s office. As such, conference calls, videos, chairs rolling across the hardwood floor…and beyond that, delivery trucks, fire engines, construction equipment, etc.

My current solution? Record at night. The neighborhood is much quieter at night. Sometimes. There is a mockingbird in our neighborhood which sings its song all night from spring to fall, crickets which gather directly under my bedroom window. Nowhere else around the house. And trains, which are required to sound their horns as they approach and pass railroad crossings. (There are MANY railroad crossings around here.)

The other downside is that I have to be on a nocturnal schedule, which is not great for my health, nor is it great for the rest of my life. It makes it hard to get stuff done when places are closed while I’m awake. Also, my room gets very hot during the summer days, and I cannot sleep.

What would solve most of this? A proper recording booth. I can put the right booth in the living room at the far end of the house. Away from the street, the crickets, and my housemate’s office. I could work during the day in an acoustically treated space, fully enclosed, and able to do my job more efficiently and consistently.

Unfortunately, recording booths are expensive, and I can’t afford one on my own. Which brings me to you.

What I am hoping for is $10k to purchase a Studiobricks One (link below) and possibly upgrade my microphone which, while still serviceable, is pretty much the one I started with 14 years ago and a newer/better one wouldn’t go unwanted, but is not a requirement.

What do you get out of it? Two things!

If you’re not familiar with my work and want to see what sort of tools I have in my arsenal, please feel free to check out my demo reel on YouTube:

As mentioned above, this is the booth I would like to get.

The Studiobricks One VO Edition

Designed to be as easy to assemble as a LEGO set, even someone as mechanically disinclined as myself could put it together. Also, should I ever move house, I can take it apart and reassemble it somewhere else.

That’s it! That’s what I’m asking for help with. If you are unable to give any financial assistance, please consider spreading the word. Even that little bit helps.

Many thanks, and I hope you’ll be hearing me even more in the future!